Marc J. Sharpe, M.A., M.Phil., MBA

Vision Statement

I will measure the next 15 years of my career by the positive impact on the people around me. I seek opportunities where there is an alignment of interest, mutual reward, and exceptional outcomes for all stakeholders. I will do everything in my power to create, strengthen, and sustain the organizations and people I serve.

Mission Statement

I will bring sound judgement, unmatched commitment, high integrity, steadfast ethics, and a competitive mindset to build world class capabilities that ensure succession, innovation, operational excellence, and financial outperformance with the goal of preserving legacy and creating an organization of the highest regard and reputation.

Financial Acumen

• Negotiated $100M secondary direct sale of three portfolio companies into newly capitalized fund structure providing liquidity to limited partners.
• Negotiated complex $50M financing transaction with OPIC & EBRD, involving public issuance of debt and waterfall carve outs for existing partners.
• Significantly outperformed portfolio benchmark by 3,500 bps, with lower risk, achieving a positive net return of 55 bps during the GFC in 2008.

Analytical Thinking

• Structured first foreign private equity funds for Poland and Romania, raising over $100M each.
• Performed acquisition & divestiture analysis for Pepsi Romania’s Budapest Stock Exchange listing.
• Raised over $50M in capital contributions and managed New Ukraine Partners, L.P., which invested in Ukrainian privatization deals and achieved +250% return in under 3 years.

Strategic Vision

• Pioneered specialty finance program for premier real estate investments via the EB-5 Visa Program. Grew market share in EMEA to over 20% within two years through strategic partnerships.
• Conceived and incubated early-stage investments in five companies with $10m deployed across the portfolio. Received follow on funding and step up in valuations ranging from 15% to 50%.

Risk Management

• Managed 75 private partnerships investing in private equity, hedge funds, and real estate, and built dynamic models to track portfolios.
• Built alternative investment infrastructure and managed all aspects of team and operations for investing in alternative investment vehicles, including calls, distributions, corporate actions, cash management, monitoring and reporting.

Operational Execution

• Managed national roll-out of 25 Dell Direct Stores and led a 25-person team with full P&L responsibility for Consumer Electronics Show.
• Set quarterly forecast for $1B SMB Enterprise business. Drove Storage & Server business to exceed goals: Units 108%, Rev 102%, Margin 106%.
• Increased margin contribution from Digital Entertainment products more than 60% through branding strategy and direct promotions.

Talent Evaluation

• Managed team and all back-office operations for 6 funds across 40+ entities in 5 countries, including investor relations, accounting, audit, legal, and LP reporting.
• Recruited, managed, and led an eight-person venture investment team, with full P&L responsibility deploying a $15M investment budget and managing all aspects of team development and engagement.

“My Word Is My Bond”

• I value integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness.
• I am committed to being reliable and keeping promises.
• I believe keeping one’s word reflects a strong sense of personal responsibility and ethical behavior.
• Trust and reliability are the core of my relationships with others.

“Success Comes From Discipline and Hard Work”

• I value dedication, perseverance, and resilience.
• We are on a journey of continuous improvement and must keep moving forward despite the obstacles.
• Discipline and hard work are essential to achieve success.

“Small Incremental Gains Every Day”

• I value consistency, perseverance, and continuous improvement.
• Sustained effort ultimately leads to success. Having a growth mindset and the dedication to keep moving forward requires resilience and persistence.
• Progress, no matter how small, is valuable.

“Great Leaders Inspire Others to Become Leaders”

• I value self-determination and personal accountability.
• Individuals have the responsibility to shape their own lives through their actions, decisions, and effort.
• Be compassionate and give others the opportunity to do everything they can to help themselves.

“Communication is the Key”

• I believe transparency is the foundation of trust in relationships.
• Being truthful and straightforward, tempered with kindness, in all interactions is the most ethical and effective approach to fostering open and genuine relationships and building a reputation for reliability and sincerity.

“What’s Dangerous is to Not Evolve”

• Adaptability fosters resilience and ensures survival and growth.
• Valuing adaptability means cultivating a mindset where learning and evolution are constant.
• The only way to stay relevant is to keep learning, keep evolving, and keep adapting.

“Manners Maketh Man”

• I value politeness and respect for others. Good manners indicate a person’s character.
• Showing courtesy demonstrates a mindset that values humility, mindfulness, and the impact of one’s behavior on others.
• How we treat others reflects how we expect to be treated.

“Less Is More”

• I value simplicity, clarity, and efficiency.
• I enjoy deconstructing complexity into its more easily understandable components.
• I focus on what is important and eliminate unnecessary distractions.

Experience

• Over the course of my career, I have worked at three single and two multi-family offices.
• I bring a unique perspective of the incentives, timelines, and operational complexities that exist on both the buy side and the sell side.
• For the past 20-years I’ve grown The Family Office Association into a global network of the world’s largest and wealthiest family offices. My personal network includes 1,500 Family Offices, 1,800 Investment Professionals, and 600 Bankers, Attorneys & Accountants.
• I have written numerous thought leadership pieces on family office related topics and designed, built, and teach an MBA class curriculum at Rice University & Southern Methodist University entitled “The Entrepreneurial Family Office”.

Some Key Takeaways

• While every family office is a snowflake, there are common themes that endure, including governance, succession, investment performance, technology, staffing, risk management, security, asset protection, etc.
• Over the years I have tracked the family office ecosystem and built relationships with key service providers.
• Today there exists a wide range of sophisticated solutions and technology tailored to the needs of the modern family office.
• I have compiled a library of best practices and a rolodex of relationships that allow me to add value.
• While I may not know the answer to every question, I have the tools, resources, and relationships to solve any problem.

TFOA Network

Founded and chair a global peer network of principals and C-level single family office executives to share best practice, leverage deal flow and due diligence, and consolidate buying power. Members are from some of the largest and wealthiest families in the world and participate in monthly meetings, quarterly speaker events, and an annual symposium.

Family Office Education

Conceived and designed the curriculum for an MBA course called “The Entrepreneurial Family Office” which I teach as an Adjunct Professor at Rice University and Southern Methodist University. The course provides an overview of all the major components and challenges of starting, growing, and successfully managing a family office through a mixture of coursework, case studies, and guest speakers.

Venture Capital Investments

SumIt, Unlimited.ai, Update, OpenTrade, X-energy, Terran Biosciences, SpaceX, Dvele, Ursa Major, PsiQuantum, EvidenceIQ, Gilgamesh, Apollo, Journey Clinical, Hapbee, No Cow, Discord, data.world, Cameo, and Beyond Identity, among others.

Private Equity Investments

Torani, Automatic Fire Protection, Second Mile Education, HOBO, Komline, Formulife, Kitsch, and LCR Capital Partners.

Real Estate Investments

Crescent, Group RMC, Bounty Minerals, Resilient Capital Partners, Gated Rentals, Goff Capital Partners L.P., and The Calida Group.

Annual Retainer

• Long term engagement as a Strategic Advisor or Operating Partner.
• A full extension of your business development and / or investor relations efforts.
• Work with you year-round for constant touchpoints with key targets.

Private Forums

• From private dinners to high-impact events, we convene family office leaders based, in an intimate, bespoke setting.
• These events are hosted in Houston or Dallas and are designed to be informative and engaging.
• Don’t rely on a chance meeting at a conference.

Market Intelligence

• Commission your own targeted surveys to understand your pain points and future focus areas.
• Surveys are designed to effectively inform your go-to market strategy and are shared anonymously via a proprietary technology platform with TFOA members to complete.

Annual Symposium

• Open to a select group of sponsors as a client engagement event to meet our highly curated audience of family office attendees.
• This is an opportunity to meet family office executives, learn from leading practitioners, and hear the latest research in investing and family office management.

Executive Search

• Leverage TFOA’s private member portal to source and screen high-quality potential candidates.
• Identify top-tier candidates for family office and board level roles, using TFOA’s up-to-date network knowledge and market research.
• Discretion is at the core of everything we do.

Capital Introductions

• Only available in conjunction with an Annual Retainer.
• Specialized service for management teams or General Partners to identify, build, and accelerate your relationships with new investors.
• Series 7 licensed for general securities offerings, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, etc.